To chronically starving Asia, reports of the new rice sounded like an invitation to a feast. It was tough and fast-growing, able to root almost anywhere and twice as bountiful as ordinary strains.

The man behind “miracle rice” has died. Henry Beachell, Waverly native, 1930 University of Nebraska graduate and winner of the 1996 World Food Prize, died Wednesday at age 100, according to the World ...